The soda industry has employed a reusable twenty liter stainless steel cylinder for commercial dispensing of soda beverages for many years. This reusable container has an opening and a removable oval lid that allows the inside of the container to be cleaned and refilled. Within the last ten years an innovation has been introduced which has been termed a "bag in the box" system. This product was introduced to the industry for post-mix soda. The "bag in the box" system has largely replaced the reusable stainless steel container for certain post-mix applications, however, the reusable container is still used in all pre-mix applications and some specific post-mix situations.
The reusable container has certain inherent drawbacks inasmuch as it presents readily identifiable problems of sanitation and labor inefficiencies. For example the oval lid is removable, and consequently foreign matter can enter the container and contaminate the soda product. Further, the reusable container is difficult and time consuming to clean by hand and filling the containers is labor intensive. On the other hand, the "bag in the box" system has the drawback that it is not reusable. Additionally, the adoption of the "bag in the box" system has resulted in a large number of containers which have no current use and which are standing idle.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for an improved container which is a "closed" system which maintains a sanitary condition for the soft drink beverage material contained therein, and which further requires a minimum amount of labor to maintain such sanitary state. Further, a need has arisen for a use for the reusable twenty liter stainless steel cylinder containers which were formerly employed in the soda industry and which have begun to fall out of favor.